Related Posts Widget for Blogs by LinkWithin

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

London... London



It has been a while since the last time I posted something on this blog. My apology to all of you who have taken the time to drop by only to find the same old post. And my gratitude to all of you who have sent warm regards and concerned emails asking how I was doing. Thank you!



A couple of things happened that took my time entirely away from blogging. First I was so overwhelmed of preparing my entry to the ICCA Wedding Cake Competition in Malaysia taking place end of last September. It was my very first competition so it was understandable how seriously I must have taken it. A three week dedication that consisted of flower preparation, coloring and dusting, and a lot of rolling and folding. In the meantime I also had to worry about the flight, accommodation, and how to carry my cake on board.



I was just super busy. There were times when I thought it was just too tiring joining such overseas event and should just quit. But then T was always there to comfort me and put me back on track thinking positively that it was a worthwhile journey of experience, either win or lose at the end. Due to the number of things we need to hand carry into the airplane, T finally decided to accompany me for the trip. A great support came just right in time, one week to the competition day.



We arrived in Petaling Jaya, the city where the competition took place 2 days earlier. It was nice since we could do a final touch to the cake, check out the distance between the hotel and the competition hall and figure out the feasibility of hand carrying the cake on the competition day, and of course have time to find good food and enjoy ourselves a little bit.



We were asked to deliver the cake between 8:00 and 10:30am in the morning of 30th September and since my cake was fully done the night before we had the luxury to show up at 9:00. I carried the cake with my hands, out of my hotel room and all the way to the competition hall, going through lift, pavement, stairway, and escalator. T was right in front of me looking out for my steps. It was such a relief when I finally lied my cake on the display table.



Everything went smoothly and we had the privilege to see the judges take their rounds, observe and jolt down their comments. Our judges were Rosalind Chan - the owner of ICCA, Chef Wan and Chef Ami - both celebrity chefs of Malaysia, and Alan Dunn and Lorraine McKay - gurus of sugar flower and sugar modeling.



The surprise came about the next day while I was attending classes with Alan Dunn and Lorraine McKay. On a coffee break, I bumped into Adlina from ICCA who asked whether I had heard about the winner announcement and since my answer was "No", she invited me to walk with her to the exhibition hall.

There I strolled around passing through other participants’ cakes before finally stood in front of mine which happened to be at the end corner, and noticed that there was a 1st sign placed right beside my cake. Good heaven!! I jumped in joy and quickly shared my bliss with T. Guess what? I won a sponsored trip to London to attend Squires Kitchen's 5 day professional cake decorating class and Squire Kitchen exhibition in March 2012! Oh, London... London...



So from there I and T got to celebrate the winning with our friends in Malaysia - Jerry and Suki. We had a wonderful time exploring Petaling Jaya and traveling in Malacca. It was such a great trip packed with beautiful places and delicious food that we promised to go back again as soon as we could.



Our following destination, Jakarta was supposed to be a sweet one week trip which happened to be over extended due to flooding in Bangkok. Being away for that long made me realize how much I missed home and wanted to fly back and return to my routine life, and of course blogging and cake decorating.

53 comments:

  1. Congratulations Kris! That's incredible. Your flowers are jaw-dropping.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, congrats! That is really awesome. You really deserve such a price as your cake is mindblowingly splendid!!!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    ReplyDelete
  3. Congratulations! That are great news!

    Funny that you are visiting Europe next year, we'll be visiting Thailand next January/February. I'm soo looking forward to that :).

    Greetings, Lena

    ReplyDelete
  4. Congratulations! It must have been a really rewarding experience :D Enjoy London too! ^^

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow! Congratulations! So well deserved. What stunning work on your cake!

    ReplyDelete
  6. OMG!!!! no question, your cake is amazing! You did awesome job,congratulation once again. You deserve the prize, can't wait your story in London..explore..explore..explore.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Kris, congratulations!! Your flowers are so breathtakingly beautiful, you deserved first prize!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Congratulations Kris!! Your cake decorating skills have always amazed me so I'm thrilled for you. Thoroughly deserved! x

    ReplyDelete
  9. ขอแสดงความยินดีด้วยนะคะ เค้กงดงามอย่างไทย อ่อนช้อย และเห็นถึงความตั้งใจบรรจง
    ตกแต่งอย่างวิจิต ตระการตาคะ สวยมากๆคะ สวยจริงๆ

    ReplyDelete
  10. Good to see you back in the blogoshpere! Hope the situation in Bangkok has improved!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Congratulations!!! I am so happy for you, Kris. Your cake is so beautiful and unique. All the hard work you had been working on, you deserve the prize.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hey Kris! Yes, I did get worried about you with your absence, actually I was wondering it had something to do with all the flooding in Bangkok. I'm relieved to know that it was for such an honorable reason. Congratulations on your first prize, you did an out of this world job! You are so very talented and I admire your splendid work of art. It's beyond words!
    All the best to you!
    Renata

    ReplyDelete
  13. Congrats! So lovely to' read about you!
    Your newest follower from Rome!
    Laura@RicevereconStile

    ReplyDelete
  14. Congratulations Kris! I really have not seen such a master like you! Best regards!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Omg thats mindblowing work ...after reading the first 2 sentence , I just scrolled down to see the result as I don't want to wait for a long time to see your winning moment, I am really very very happy for you and your work Kris.. great going.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Congratulations Kris, that is really awesome!!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Congratulation!!:)What a feast for the eyes;)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Wow, but hey I always new you were talented. You have wonderful talent and pay such attention to detail.

    ReplyDelete
  19. congratulations. Well deserved 1´st. Nice to see you back also

    ReplyDelete
  20. Your blog and art is outstanding and I'm very very happy I stumbled upon it!!!

    ReplyDelete
  21. i need to scoop my jaw up off the floor after seeing this cake...bravo and welcome back!

    ReplyDelete
  22. I love your work, the cake just show how much work you have put in this competition. Very pretty and detailed on every single area of your cake, you are deserved for the 1st place and congratulation! Magnificent !

    ReplyDelete
  23. Congrats, that is one great looking cake.

    ReplyDelete
  24. ขอแสดงความยินดีมากๆค่ะ แอบติดตามห่างๆมานานพอสมควร แต่ไม่เคยคอมเม้นต์เพราะคิดว่าพี่เป็นฝรั่ง พอทราบว่าเป็นคนไทย ทำให้ปลื้มพี่สุดๆเลยค่ะ ฝีมือในการทำขนมของพี่สุดยอดที่สุดเลยค่ะ

    ReplyDelete
  25. Hi, Kris!! Congratulations!! You deserve it, i dare say. Your work are always marvelous and done with love, yes it shows ;) I'm so proud of you. Sooo...., will i be watching you on Food Channels next? I'd love that too!!! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  26. Congrats!!! Soo happy for you Kris!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Congratulations Kris! That's one of the most beautiful wedding cake I have seen. Lovely!! You are so talented. Loved your blog!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Congratulation Kris!! You deserve to win. The cake is so unique and exclusive with great details. What a great achievements...can't wait to see more of your work in the international competition. We always support you!!

    Welcome back blogging too. I wonder how could I miss this post for quite sometimes...

    ReplyDelete
  29. O you won!! Congratulations Kris and well done. And seriously; you walked with that huge cake in your hands all that distance?? I think I would have died a thousand deaths in between for fear of dropping it. Having said that; it's not surprise you won as that cake is drop dead gorgeous! And wow london! Cool price!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Congratulations, Kris! The cake is beautiful! Carrying it to the judging site had to be nerve-wracking but how worth it to come in first. :)

    ReplyDelete
  31. Congrats, Kris ! I knew you are such a talented artist. You deserve it ! Your cake is gorgeous, you mixed the colors wonderfully and very detail. :)

    ReplyDelete
  32. Congratulations such a gorgeous gorgeous cake

    ReplyDelete
  33. Fabulous, Kris! Congratulations! You deserve the award...that's a lovely cake. I'd love to see a wedding cake competition!

    ReplyDelete
  34. Congratulations Kris! That is a wonderful achievement - and a truly wonderful cake! Well done x

    ReplyDelete
  35. Welcome back, Kris, and what an amazing cake endeavor! Congrats on your 1st place win!! Your cake is gorgeous and it was a shoo-in, for sure :) Regardless, just happy to see you're back!!

    ReplyDelete
  36. Now where so I start?! Congratulations Kris! What a stunning work of art; it's gorgeous. So when can I start to place my orders with you? ;) I'm sure you'll have a fabulous time in London!

    ReplyDelete
  37. Wow! Many congratulations, the cake is absolutely awesome! I would love to see it for real.

    ReplyDelete
  38. congrats Kris! Your cake is amazing! I'm happy for you and can't wait to hear about your days in London.

    ReplyDelete
  39. What a fabulous write up Kris and also what a wonderful blog! It was an absolute privilige to see your work and you are a very deserving winner. I wish you every success...you are an amazing talent and artist. It was a pleasure to meet you.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Incredible, the colors... the flowers are perfect... the whole is why you won! ....RaeDi

    ReplyDelete
  41. Your blog have give light to my eyes..now i'm following you....and forever also!!! :D
    Look all yummy...and so perfect!
    Goooooood job!

    ReplyDelete
  42. Congratulations! I knew from the very first time I viewed your blog that you were blessed with a gift. Your cake is absolutely gorgeous. I cannot begin to imagine how many hours you worked upon this masterpiece. Kudos, Kris. :)

    Merry Christmas to you and T

    ReplyDelete
  43. parabens, estou passando para te deseja boas festas,

    ReplyDelete
  44. That's so great! What a great accomplishment!Wishing you a wonderful holiday season and more sweets to come!

    ♥ Daniëlle

    ReplyDelete
  45. Kris, I am speechless over the exceptional beauty and precision of your cake! I am so happy for you, and I can easily see why you placed 1st! What an amazing talent! Instead of attending the class in London, I think you should be teaching it:) All the Best, Sue

    ReplyDelete
  46. Your cake is amazing. I'm sure if they could have given you higher than 1st place they would have. Congratulations! Have fun in London! Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  47. Yay - congratulations is was a fabulous masterpiece and what a super prize too, hopefully we will get to hear all about it.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Congratulations Kris! Your cake is gorgeous and your win well deserved. Have a wonderful time at your class though I suspect you could probably teach the instructors there a thing or two about cake decorating :)

    ReplyDelete
  49. WOW! Kris, every time I visit your site my jaw drops. You are so talented and fantastic - please never stop. I'm sorry I have not managed to visit your site more, I hope I get less busy and am able to find the time to enjoy others great work.

    ReplyDelete
  50. Kris: Have been away too from the computer.
    Missed this post when you posted it.

    This is simply awesome and well deserved 1st place!

    You are such and inspiration.

    Thankyou for sharing.

    Charlie

    ReplyDelete
  51. Goodness, I can't believe I didn't see this sooner! Congratulations!!!! Your cake is unbelievable :D

    Your work is so meticulous and precise, but soft and elegant. Just amazing.

    As for your prize, I'm jealous! I love Squires Kitchen, I order from their online store all the time and when their e-mails arrive announcing this and that event, I wish I could get to the UK for it. One day!

    Well done Kris, just amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  52. OMG, your cake is amazing, they look like real.

    ReplyDelete